Fast acting vise



Aug. 2, 1955 J, MCDONALD FAST ACTING VISE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 22, 1953 INVENTOR Job: H/WcDonaZd Aug. 2, 1955 J. A. MCDONALD 2,714,320

FAST ACTING VISE Filed Sept. 22, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2/4 5 INVENTOR I! BYJobn EMcDonala' United States Patent 2 2,714,320 FAST ACTING VISE John A. McDonald, Carmichael, Calif. Application September 22, 953, Serial No. 381,701 6 Claims. or. s1-17 This invention relates to a bench vise of that general type which includes fixed and movable jaws, and a manually rotated screw which advances or retracts the movable jaw to and from the fixed jaw.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a vise of this type having a clamping means for the work, and for the screw itself, so arranged that the jaws may be shifted from a wide spread to a close-together position and vice versa, so as to engage work pieces of corresponding size, with only a very few turns of the screw in either case being necessary. With this vise, therefore, handling of work of various sizes is greatly expedited.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vise which is practical, reliable, and durable, and one which is exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings: a

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the vise as engaged with a work piece, the body of the vise being partly broken out and in section.

Fig. 2 is a section plan on line 2'2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a similar view but showing the clamping parts as released from the body.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse section on line 5--5 of Fig. 3 showing the locking pin of the sleeve-nut as engaged with the clamping or adjusting screw.

Fig. 6 is a similar view, but showing the screw as having been turned to release the locking pin.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the vise comprises an elon- L gated body 1 of generally rectangular form and arranged to be secured by any suitable means on a bench. At one end, and at the top, the body is formed with a transverse fixed jaw 2 positioned to cooperate with a movable jaw 3 from which a shank 4 depends. A horizontal bar 5 projects from the shank 4 and is slidable in a longias shown at .8, but whose top and bottom walls are parallel. Slidable in the chamber are laterally opposed clamping blocks 9 whose laterally opposed faces are Z,7l4,320 Patented Aug. 2, 1955 held in said recess by a plate 17 secured on the forward face of the block 11.

It will, therefore, be seen that if the sleeve nut 14 is rotated in one direction, the head 13 and block 11 will be brought together, spreading the clamping blocks 9 and bringing the same into frictional engagement with the converging chamber walls 8 of chamber 7.

if the sleeve nut 14 is rotated in the opposite direction, the head and wedge block are separated, enabling the clamping blocks to approach each other and thus clear said walls 8.

The possible extent of movement of the block 11 and head 13 away from each other is such. as to allow the clamping blocks to approach each other sufficient for them to engage the walls 3 adjacent their point of greatest convergence, which is at the forward end of the body. A nut 18, or other stop, on the nut 14 rearwardly of head 13 limits the extent of forward movement of the nut 14 through head 13. The possible extent of movement of block 11 and head 13 toward each other is such as to cause the clamping blocks to be spread apart sufiicient for them to engage the walls 8 adjacent the rear end of the body.

Movement of the blocks, head, and screw nut as a unit along the chamber 7 substantially from one end thereof to the other, and clamping of said unit against movement relative to the body at any point in the length of the chamber 7, may thus be effected by suitable rotation of the sleeve nut, as will be evident.

Such movement of the block and head unit is transmitted to the movable jaw, and the clamping blocks clamped against the chamber Walls at any desired point by the following means:

Turnably mounted in shank 4, above bar 5, in axial alinement with sleeve nut 14 and held against axial movement relative to said shank, is a screw shaft 19 having handle means 20 for rotating said shaft secured thereto in front of the shank, as is conventional practice.

This shaft turnably projects through the front end wall 21 of the body-chamber 7 and is threaded through the sleeve nut 14; a nut 22, or other stop, on the rear end of ice the screw shaft, rearwardly of the nut 14, limiting the forward movement of the screw shaft through said sleeve nut. The sleeve nut and screw shaft are both threaded in a right-hand direction.

The head 15 of the sleeve nut 14 is provided with a relatively deep circumferential groove 23 in its periphery,

in which a split spring ring 24, which tends to contract, is mounted. On one end, the spring is formed with a locking pin 25' which projects radially inward through a radial guide hole 26 in head 15 for engagement with the screw j shaft 19. ward or jaw end of the body at a relatively small angle,

cut on a slope the same as that of the converging chamber walls.

The forward faces of the blocks 9 converge rearwardly toward each other and said faces are engaged by a wedge block 11, while the rear straight faces 12 of blocks 9 are engaged by a crossliead 13. The blocks 9 and 11, and the head 13), are all of rectangular form in cross section and are substantially the same height as chamber 7 so that said blocks and headcan' slide back and forth, but cannot turn in said chamber.

Threaded through the head 13 is a sleeve nut 14 which passes freely between the clamping blocks 9 and is turnable in the Wedge block 11.

In order to prevent axial movement of the sleeve nut relative to block 11, the nut 14 is formed, at its forward end, with an enlarged circular head seated in a recess 16 in. the forward face. of block 11; the head 15 being The threads 27 of the screw shaft are preferably square, and one turn of such threads is formed with a full-depth notch 28 whose leading face, with respect to rotation of the screw shaft in a direction to advance said shaft rearwardly through the sleeve nut, is square cut or radial, while the other face is relatively elongated and gradually slopes to the periphery of the thread, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

The diameter of the pin is substantially the same as' the width of the thread, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The notch 28 is disposed at a point in the length of the sleeve-nut engaging portion of the threading 27 so that said notch will only aline with the locking pin after the screw shaft is approaching a fully retracted position in the sleeve" nut, as shown in Fig. 3.

With this arrangement, it will be seen that when the screw shaft has been retracted-or turned counter-clockwise and moved forwardly-through the screw nut 14 until the pin 25 drops into notch 28, further rotation of the screw shaft in the same direction Will cause the screw nut to be rotated as a unit therewith and, of course, in the same direction since the radial end of the notch 28 is then bearing against the locking pin, as shown in Fig. 5.

Such rotation of the sleeve nut will retract the same through the head 13 in a forward direction, separating the wedge block and head 13, and allowing the wedge blocks to move laterally inward; the extent of such movement depending, of course, on the number of rotations imparted to the sleeve nut 14.

This allows the jaw 3 to be pulled away from jaw 2, without any further screw rotation, the distance necessary to dispose any certain work piece 29 between the jaws. The jaw 3 is then advanced to take up any slack which exists between the work and the jaws which movement of said jaw also advances the screw shaft and the block and head unit in the body without any rotation of the screw shaft being necessary.

The screw shaft 19 is then rotated, by handle unit 20, in a clockwise direction; the pin 25 being still in groove .28 following the previous counter-clockwise rotation of the screw shaft as previously explained.

Due to the fact that spring 24 acts to yieldably press the pin radially inward, the sleeve unit will remain locked to the screw shaft and will turn therewith as long as there is no resistance to the approaching movement of the wedge block 11 and head 13, and the resultant separation of the clamping blocks.

As soon as said blocks contact the converging body walls 8, however, the resistance to rotation of the sleeve nut becomes greater than the spring pressure on the pin 25, and the sleeve nut remains stationary; said pin climbing the sloping face of notch 28 with continued rotation of the screw shaft.

Such rotation then, of course, advances the screw shaft through the sleeve unit, and the screw shaft and jaw 3 are advanced as a unit, clamping the work between the aws.

The screw shaft is advanced whatever amount is necessary to firmly hold the work against movement; the clamping blocks, even though not tightly gripping the walls 8, being incapable of movement toward the front end of the body because of the direction of slope of the walls 8 relative to said front end.

When it is desired to release the work, it is only necessary to turn the screw shaft in a counter-clockwise direction to unclamp the jaws from the work after which, with further rotation of the screw shaft, the locking pin will be re-engaged and the wedge block and head 13 moved apart.

It will, therefore, be seen that only a few turns of the screw shaft are required to clamp a Work piece between the jaws, regardless of whether such work is of a size to require a small or great separation of the jaws.

The number of such necessary turns will, of course, depend on the pitch of the threads, both of the sleeve nut and of the screw shaft, as well as on the angle of slope of the faces of the clamping and wedge blocks; and these features will be designed so as to give the most practicable action in service.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention, as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the function of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new and useful, and upon which Letters Patent are desired:

1. A bench vise comprising a body adapted to be mounted in a fixed position on a bench, a fixed. jaw on the front end of the body, a movable jaw ahead of the fixed jaw, means including a bar slidably supporting the movable jaw from the body for movement to and from the fixed jaw, means forming a chamber in the body extending lengthwise of said bar, a unit in the chamber movable lengthwise thereof and including clamping blocks arranged for releasable engagement with opposite walls of the chamber, a rotatable screw shaft connected to the movable jaw and projecting into the chamber and through the unit and parallel to the bar for axial movement with the unit, and means mounted on the unit and cooperating with and controlled by rotation of the screw shaft in one direction to move the clamping blocks into engagement with said opposed chamber walls; said opposed Walls converging in the direction of the forward end of the chamber and body, and the wall engaging faces of the clamping blocks being similarly sloped.

' 2. A bench vise comprising a body adapted to be mounted in a fixed position on a bench, a fixed jaw on the front end of the body, a movable jaw ahead of the fixed jaw, means including a bar slidably supporting the movable jaw from the body for movement to and from the fixed jaw, means forming a chamber in the body extending lengthwise of said bar, a unit in the chamber movable lengthwise thereof and including clamping blocks arranged for separating movement to releasably engage opposed walls of the chamber, members at opposite ends of the blocks one of which cooperates with the blocks to force the same apart upon approach of the members toward each other, and a rotatable sleeve nut threaded through one member and held against axial movement in the other member; a rotatable screw shaft parallel to the bar and connected to the movable jaw and projecting into the chamber and threaded through the sleeve nut, and cooperating elements on the sleeve nut and screw shaft arranged to impart rotation to the sleeve nut in a direction to shift the blocks into engagement with the walls upon rotation of the screw shaft in one direction and to then allow the screw shaft to advance through the sleeve nut without rotation of the latter, and to impart a rotation to the sleeve nut in the opposite direction upon rotation of the screw shaft in a corresponding direction and subsequent to an initial retracting movement of the screw shaft through the sleeve nut.

3. A vise, as in claim 2, in which the adjacent faces of the blocks are disposed in converging relation to each other, and one of said members is formed as a wedge projecting between said converging faces.

4. A vise, as in claim 2, in which said'cooperating elements comprise a locking pin radially slidable in the sleeve nut, and spring means yieldably moving the pin radially inward, one turn of the threads of the screw shaft having a notch cut therein for reception of the pin; one face of the notch being substantially radial of the screw shaft and the other face being elongated and gradually sloping to the periphery of said turn of the threads. 1 a

5. A structure as in claim 4, in which the sleeve nut is provided at one end with an enlarged head in which the locking pin is mounted; said spring means comprising a split spring ring tending to contract and from one end of which the pin depends, the ring being disposed in a circumferential groove formed in the periphery of said enlarged head.

6. A structure as in claim 4, in which the radial face of thenotch is disposed at the leading end of the notch relative to the direction of advancing movement of the screw shaft through the sleeve nut.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 400,069 Farwell Mar. 26, 1889 1,155,027 Wright Sept. 28, 1915 1,636,181 Glassey July 19, 1927 FOREIGN PATENTS 546,518 Great Britain July 16, 1942 

